Airplane Naps 1
The basics
This weekend, two of us flew (separately) and both lost consh. It was awesome. With that, I thought it would be helpful to lay out some airplane nap basics -- not the last you’ll hear about this.
When?
Timing is everything
I once fell asleep before takeoff and woke up after landing -- probably more a “sleep” but transcendent nonetheless, some of my best work. On a longer flight, I usually sleep somewhere in the middle. Varies with time of day, among other things.
Where?
Aisle or window?
Obviously window, though you may prefer aisle for non-napping related reasons (I do not).
How?
Armrest dominance
I’ve spent plenty of flights jockeying for armrest position with my neighbor -- or even worse, neighbors, should I somehow wind up in a middle seat (the worst of all, hence my not even discussing it above).
There are four choices re armrest usage:
none - not a lot out there, like people who think cilantro tastes like soap
whole thing - uncommon because there aren’t many “none”s out there, otherwise is aggressive and likely difficult to maintain
front half - reasonable compromise, not my favorite
back half - my preferred compromise, as it allows for uninterrupted napping if you recline
Today, I closed my eyes before takeoff and fell asleep soon after, then woke up almost two hours later, about an hour before landing -- again, more sleep than nap, and a tremendous one at that. No music, back armrest, no reclining. Giddy up!